Shloka 19
Mahāprasthānika-parva Adhyāya 2: The Northward March, Sight of Himavat and Meru, and the Sequential Falls
तस्मिंस्तु पुरुषव्याप्रे पतिते शक्रतेजसि । ग्रियमाणे दुराधर्षे भीमो राजानमब्रवीत्
tasmiṃstu puruṣavyāpre patite śakratejasi | gṛhyamāṇe durādharṣe bhīmo rājānam abravīt ||
At that moment the mighty hero—Arjuna, radiant with Indra’s splendor—fell upon the earth, the unconquerable warrior drawing near his end. Then Bhīma spoke to King Yudhiṣṭhira. The moment opens a grave moral crisis: even the greatest may fall, and those who remain must face the meaning of dharma, responsibility, and the hidden causes of suffering on the final journey.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the most exalted hero can fall; the episode presses the ethical question of why suffering befalls the virtuous and how one should respond—without attachment, with discernment about karma and dharma, and with steadiness in the face of death.
During the Pāṇḍavas’ final journey, Arjuna collapses and approaches death. Bhīma, shaken by the fall of the Indra-like warrior, turns to King Yudhiṣṭhira to ask the reason—setting up an explanation tied to conduct, vows, and the subtle workings of dharma.